Moccasin



Nov. 27, 1923 P. G. MEYER MOCCA'SIN Filed Mrch 2, 1922 Patented Novn Z7, 1923,

UNITED STATES isz/5,646 PA'raNr Fries.

PAUL G. MEYER, F WILTON, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO Gf. H. BASS a COMPANY, OF WILTON, MAINE, A CORPORATION 0F MANE.

IOCCASIN.

Application filed March 2, 1922. Serial No. 540,511,

To all 207mm t may concern.

Be it known that I, PAUL G. MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wilton, in the county of Franklin and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Moccasins; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others '10 skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to boots and shoes which are usually made of soft leather, and more particularly to moccasins or the l5 like.

The object of the invention is to provide a moccasin with means for reinforcing and strengthening the seam or seams which unite the vamp and toe-piece at the ball of the foot on either side so as to prevent the seams from ripping.

l am aware of the fact that a ball strap, or a saddle strap, as it is sometimes called, is not new, such straps having been used upon some kinds of shoes and slippers, particularly shoes whose uppers are composed mainly of cloth or similar material, and

I therefore make no claim to a ball strap per se. But it is not possible or at least it is impracticablc to use a ball strap on a moccasin as heretofore ordinarily constructed, in which the hand seam is the last step in its manufacture, and it is not possible to put on the ball strap after the sole has been attached to the moccasin.

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In said drawings, F ig. l is a side view of a inoccasin having a seam reinforcing and strengthening ball strap embodying .my invention attached theretog Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, with the upper parts of the quarters near to gether;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the moccasin, illustrating the mode of attaching the ball strap on the underside of the moccasin and unit-ing the sole portions of the vamp.

Fig. i is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of F ig. 3.

Referring to said drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to denote corresponding parts in different views, the letter A denotes the front part or vamp of a moccasin made from a blank consisting of a single piece of leather which is bifurcated in its sole portion and the bifurcated portions thereof are secured together by a seam which extends along the medial line of the foot, as shown in Fig. 3, while the front and side edges or marginal portions of said front part are upturned around the toe portion and on both sides. The open space between Ithe upturned edges of the vamp over the toe and the ball of the foot is covered by a toe-piece B which is secured to the .upt-urned marginal portions of the vamp by a seam or seams which extend around the toe portion and rearwardly to the quarters, thus uniting the toepiece and vamp over the ball of the foot on both sides, while the rear portions of the vamp are secured to the quarters and sole portions as usual in construe-tin a moccasin of the character referred to. or the purpose of reinforcing and strengthening the seam or seams that unite the vamp and toe-piece over the ball of the foot so as to prevent the seam or seams from rippinv, strip of leather C, which extends across the vamp and toe-piece so that it covers the two seams which unite the vamp and toe-piece on opposite sides at the ball of the foot, and has its ends turned under and secured to the sole portion of the vamp, is stitched along its edges to the vamp and toe-piece so as to effectually reinforce and strengthen the seams. Preferably the reinforcing strap is formed with an intermediate portion which iiares outwardly in opposite directions to a point over the seam at each side so as to cover the seam from a point over the toes to the front ends of the quarters, and from this point the edges of the strip gradually converge at each side and merge into a narrow end portion which 100 is turned under and secured to the sole portions of the vamp, shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The method of'manufacturing this moccasin is iollows: After the several pieces 105 composing the inoccasin have been properly cut, the marginal portions of the vamp, which in the nished moccasin will come over the ball of the foot, are stitched to the corresponding portion of the toe-piece by a 110 machine which produces a flat seam. The reinforcing strap is then stitched across the vamp and toe-piece so that it covers the two seams which ha-ve been stitched. The two quarters are then fitted and attached to the vamp in the usual manner. The sole portions of the vamp are then united by a seam which extends along the medial line of the foot. The moccasin is then placed upon the last and the sea-1n around the toe is then sewed by 'hand in the usualA manner. Lastly, the shoes are attached in the regular Way;

I thus produce a moccasin which possesses great strength and durability and has a iinished and attractive appearance, and in which the seams which unite the toe-piece and vamp are reinforced and strengthened in such manneras to prevent ripping, which is liable to occur when such seams are left unprotected, or without such reinforcei'nent, thus rendering it possible to use a ball strap on a true moccasi'n, that is, on a style of footwear that does not require the use of an inner sole.

Some` of the advantages of this improvement are as follows: It makes it possible to replace the hand seam in part by a buttiug r zigzag seam sewed by machine, and the part which is replaced comes over the ball of the foot where thevmotion is and where the ripping begins, which makes the moccasin smoother on the inside and the machine seam is less expensive in construction than the hand seam. The use of the ball strap prevents ripping at the ball of the foot, which is the most vulnerable point in the usual moccasin construction, and in addition to making the seam stronger, it also strengthens the 2lzieather and prevents stretch or giving away at this point, which is where the weight of the foot comes7 and shoes are apt to tread out over the edge of the sole.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent of the United States is:

In a inoccasin, a front part or vamp having its edges upturned around the toe and on opposite sides running back to the ball of the foot, a rearwardly extending toepiece closing the open space between said upturned edges over the toes and ball of the foot and secured to said upturned edges by seams which extend rearwardly over the ball of the foot at either side from the toe portion to the quarters, and a reenforcing and strengthening strap extending over the ball of the foot across the vamp and toe-piece so as to overlie said seams, said strap being secured to said vamp and toe-piece by seams which extend along its edges across the vamp and toe-piece to the underside or sole portions of'the shoe, thus strengthening and reenfcrcing said seams; the ends of the strap being secured to the sole portions of the shoe, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in theprescnce of two witnesses.

PAUL G. MEYER.

Witnesses E. H. VHEELWRIGHT, E. A. RICHARDS. 

